Post Malone, Morgan Wallen and Hardy came together to pay tribute to the late country legend Joe Diffie at Wednesday’s CMA Awards. The trio started with Wallen and Hardy running through Diffie’s 1993 song “John Deere Green,” before welcoming Malone to the stage to sing the 1994 hit “Pickup Man” as a trio.
Post Malone, known for his association with hip-hop and pop, has shown his love for the country genre before with numerous covers of songs such as “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley, “You Can Have the Crown” by Sturgill Simpson, and “There’s a Tear in My Beer” by Hank Williams. He has also joined Billy Strings in a live performance of Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues” on stage in 2022.
Hardy released his country album “The Mockingbird and the Crow,” featuring Wallen, in 2023. It was announced prior to the ceremony that his song “Wait in the Truck” with Lainey Wilson won early CMAs for musical event of the year and music video of the year. Wilson, the most nominated artist this year, went on to win entertainer of the year at the close of the telecast.
Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning hosted the 37th iteration of the CMAs, with additional collaborations from Jelly Roll and K. Michelle, Old Dominion and Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton, and Tanya Tucker and Little Big Town.
The night’s performances included Kelsea Ballerini performing “Leave Me Again,” Dan + Shay performing “Save Me the Trouble,” and Luke Bryan taking the stage for a No. 1 hits medley, among many other performances from country music stars.
The CMAs can be streamed on Hulu the day after airing on ABC.
